Going to the Gym

I often hear people who want to lose weight say,
"I need to start going to the gym."

It’s true that most people need to be more active and less sedentary.
I’m not against exercise or the health benefits it can give one.
However, the idea that a bit more physical activity will reduce one’s body weight or prevent weight gain is a modern myth. It takes a lot more than regular trips to the gym to combat obesity.

In more ways than one, people just have “too much on their plate”.
Too much food, and too many activities.

Food intake determines body size as related to weight-loss and maintenance of that weight-loss.  Exercise determines  how physically "fit" one's body is ... at whatever size it happens to be. One cannot outexercise a bad diet.  To see an example of diet vs. exercise, watch the video at the bottom of this article. Most people with limited time who are struggling with obesity would be better served to focus on their food issues.

For the majority of people, … especially parents with young children, … it isn’t the expense of the gym fee that keeps them away. It’s the lack of time, low self-esteem, poor body image, depression, and sheer exhaustion from their stressful days. The last thing needed is yet one more obligation (meaning: visit to a gym or fitness center) in their already busy and overscheduled days.

If there was an extra hour or so to actually dedicate to going to a gym it might be a more "healthful" choice for them to get an extra hour of sleep or do something more enjoyable and relaxing.

The problem is not that people are too lazy or too cheap to pay for gym membership. The problem is that they are too busy, too stressed, too short of time, too exhausted, spend too much time in their cars, and are too caught up in everything else that makes a “healthy lifestyle” virtually impossible.

Changing one’s lifestyle is more about changing one’s ‘life’ than one’s ’style’.

Perhaps a life in which there is actually time to stop and smell the flowers would do more for busy people to better manage their weight than a workout.

See below for a video on Diet vs. Exercise.